Tag Archives: M-Braves

15 Jun

caught short?

A quick check of Atlanta’s top 30 prospects on mlb.com reveals two catchers. Jose Briceno, No. 20, is hitting .156 at Class A Carolina. Tanner Murphy, No. 26, is batting .178 at low Class A Rome. Chris O’Dowd, a fringe prospect acquired in the off-season from Colorado, was hitting .304 for the Double-A Mississippi Braves when he was slapped last week with an 80-game drug suspension. Why is any of this relevant? Well, the Atlanta Braves sent “catcher of the future” Christian Bethancourt down to Triple-A Gwinnett. Relegated to backing up 38-year-old A.J. Pierzynski, Bethancourt, 23, was batting .208 with one home run and had five passed balls and three errors in his 27 games. Bethancourt, who has a rifle arm, seemed to have a breakthrough with the M-Braves in 2013, when he hit .277 with 12 homers and made the Southern League postseason All-Star team. He was a consensus top five prospect in the system after a solid season at Gwinnett in 2014. Atlanta essentially handed him the starting job this spring — and he fumbled it away in short order. Can he ever recover it? Is Atlanta shopping for a catcher? The Braves drafted five last week, two from four-year colleges and a second-rounder from a California high school. Maybe there’s a “catcher of the future” in that bunch. P.S. LSU lost its College World Series opener to TCU 10-3 on Sunday, but former Southwest Mississippi Community College star Kade Scivicque held up his end with a 2-for-4, one-RBI day. Scivicque, the Tigers’ catcher and cleanup batter, is hitting .350 with six homers and 46 RBIs on the season. LSU plays an elimination game on Tuesday. … Arkansas, facing elimination in the CWS tonight against Miami, has two Mississippi juco products on its roster, pitcher Jackson Lowery of Meridian CC and outfielder Krisjon Wilkerson of Pearl River CC. Neither appeared in Saturday’s 5-3 loss to Virginia.

15 Jun

tenacious oyster

The Biloxi Shuckers’ logo is described in the club’s press notes as a “tenacious oyster,” which might be a bit of a P.R. stretch, but tenacious could certainly be used to describe the team. The Shuckers, playing their inaugural season, clinched the first-half championship in the Southern League South on Sunday — with six games left in the half — by whipping the second-place Mississippi Braves 9-0 at a subdued Trustmark Park. The Shuckers (39-24, best record in the league) won this title despite playing all but five of their 63 games to date on the road. MGM Park in Biloxi didn’t open until June 6. This team (the former Huntsville Stars) is no fluke. The Shuckers have nine players headed to next week’s SL All-Star Game. They feature a bunch of the Milwaukee Brewers’ top prospects, including the No. 1 (outfielder Tyrone Taylor, 3-for-5 with two RBIs on Sunday), the No. 2 (shortstop Orlando Arcia, 2-for-5, two RBIs), the No. 14 (outfielder Michael Reed, 2-for-5, RBI) and the No. 19 (ex-M-Braves outfielder Kyle Wren, 2-for-5, two runs). Starting pitcher Brooks Hall ain’t bad, either. The 6-foot-5 right-hander allowed just two hits over eight innings to run his record to 7-3. He beat Atlanta prospect Jason Hursh (2-5), who took a shutout into the sixth, when the Shuckers erupted for five runs. They scored three more in the seventh and tacked on another in the ninth, long after the M-Braves had raised the white flag. Tenacious, indeed.

13 Jun

picks who clicked

The record for most players drafted in one year by one team to reach the majors is 17 (1982, New York Mets), this according to Baseball America, which did a splendid retrospective on the MLB draft in a 50th anniversary tribute in the June 19-July 3 issue. Many of the players drafted that year by the Mets turned up on the Jackson Mets teams of 1984-87 that won two Texas League pennants and played for two more. Dwight Gooden, who didn’t play in Jackson, was the Mets’ top pick in ’82, and Rafael Palmeiro, who didn’t sign out of high school and went on to Mississippi State, was their eighth pick. Barry Lyons, the ex-Delta State star from Biloxi, was the 15th pick and starred on the ’85 JaxMets title team before going on to the big leagues. Other players of note in that draft include Roger McDowell, Greg Olson, Floyd Youmans, Steve Springer, Mickey Weston, Kyle Hartshorn, Joe Redfield and Al Carmichael, all of whom played at Smith-Wills Stadium. McDowell, Olson and Youmans enjoyed nice MLB careers. P.S. Ole Miss products Lance Lynn (St. Louis) and Aaron Barrett (Washington) have been put on the disabled list, leaving just five Mississippi-connected pitchers on active rosters in MLB. There have been as many as 11 this season. … Right-hander Mike Broadway, who pitched for the Mississippi Braves from 2009-11, was called up to the big leagues by San Francisco. He didn’t pitch on Friday, but Jesus Sucre did make his mound debut. The ex-M-Braves catcher worked a scoreless inning for Seattle in its 10-0 loss to Houston.

11 Jun

by the numbers

2 – Number of Mississippians in the majors sent to the minors today. Southern Miss alum Scott Copeland, who got his first MLB win for Toronto on Wednesday, was optioned (for the fourth time this year) to Triple-A Buffalo. Ole Miss product David Goforth, who had pitched sparingly for Milwaukee, also was optioned to Triple-A.
2 – Teams (the Chicago Cubs and Toronto) reportedly interested in trading for ex-Mississippi State standout Jonathan Papelbon, who has 12 saves and a 1.13 ERA (plus a lot of attitude) for Philadelphia.
4.5 – Games that first-place Biloxi (36-23) is ahead of the Mississippi Braves (31-27) in the Southern League South standings. The teams play a five-game series starting tonight at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The M-Braves took three of five in the teams’ inaugural series May 6-10, also played at the Tee-Pee. The first half ends June 21.
5 – Number of M-Braves on the SL South All-Star roster when pitcher Jake Brigham was added late Wednesday to a list that already included pitchers Tyrell Jenkins and Jorge Reyes, catcher Chris O’Dowd and outfielder Mallex Smith. Of course, O’Dowd won’t be playing in the June 23 game at Montgomery because he will be serving an 80-game drug suspension also handed down on Wednesday. O’Dowd had been on the inactive list since May 28.
8 – Number of Biloxi Shuckers named to the SL South All-Star team. Included are highly rated Milwaukee prospects Orlando Arcia, a shortstop, and pitcher Tyler Wagner.
8 – Home runs by Chris Coghlan, the former Ole Miss standout whose latest blast on Wednesday helped the Chicago Cubs pound Detroit 12-3.
15 – Days (at least) that ex-Ole Miss star Zack Cozart is expected to be out after hurting his knee on Wednesday. Cozart, on a roll with Cincinnati (.258, nine homers), is likely headed to the 15-day DL, according to various reports. Ex-Rebels ace Lance Lynn, 4-4 with a 3.07 ERA for St. Louis, is having tightness in his right forearm and could also land on the DL.
15 – Hits in his last 10 games for Pascagoula’s Joey Butler, who is batting .324 for Tampa Bay, the best average among regulars on the team.
19 – Number of players plucked out of Mississippi schools in the MLB draft, from DeSoto Central High’s Austin Riley at No. 41 overall to Columbia’s C.J. Newsome at No. 1,136. Ole Miss had four players chosen (Christian Trent was drafted for the second straight year), Southern Miss three (including Ferriss Trophy winner James McMahon), Delta State two and Jackson State, Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State one each. Five high schoolers and two junior college players were picked. Of note: Hinds CC, which won 43 games this season and had a plethora of NCAA Division I signees, had no players drafted. Also of note: Former Southeast Lauderdale and East Mississippi CC star LaDarious Clark was picked out of West Florida by Texas in the 12th round.

10 Jun

another one

Kyle Kubitza, who had a most impressive year for the Mississippi Braves in 2014 and then was traded in the off-season, made his big league debut tonight for the Los Angeles Angels. Kubitza is the seventh M-Braves product to debut this season, joining Brandon Cunniff, Cody Martin, J.R. Graham (Twins), Sean Gilmartin (Mets), John Cornely and Williams Perez. Kubitza was named Atlanta’s Double-A player of the year after hitting .295 with eight homers, 55 RBIs, 11 triples, 31 doubles and 21 steals. He is easily the best third baseman to play for the M-Braves in their 10-plus years. P.S. Randy Bell, the Hinds Community College right-hander, was named the NJCAA Division II pitcher of the year, adding to the first-team All-America honors he had already received.

10 Jun

swing and a drive

There is so much more to baseball than home runs – but there’s nothing more fun, is there? Former Mississippi Braves star Joey Terdoslavich hit the first of his career on Tuesday night, an eighth-inning shot that propelled Atlanta to a thrilling 6-5 win over visiting San Diego. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Terdoslavich will no doubt hit some more. He has 64 career minor league homers (since 2010) and has hit as many as 20 in a season. He hit five in 78 games for the M-Braves in 2012. Meanwhile, Ole Miss product Zack Cozart cranked his ninth bomb of the year and closed the gap on ex-Southern Miss star Brian Dozier, who has 11, in the all-Mississippi MLB home run derby. Cozart’s third homer in his last seven games – plus Joey Votto’s three long balls — helped Cincinnati wallop Philadelphia 11-2. Cozart hit just four homers all of last season. Mississippi State alum Mitch Moreland belted his seventh homer of the year as Texas beat Oakland 2-1. Ex-UM star Chris Coghlan of the Chicago Cubs also is sitting on seven. P.S. Day 2 draft picks from Mississippi included Pearl River Community College right-hander Jacob Taylor (Pittsburgh), Ole Miss righty Scott Weathersby (Houston) and Delta State righty Witt Haggard (New York Mets). Haggard is a former Lamar School football star who walked on as a quarterback at Ole Miss in 2010, then transferred to Meridian CC to focus on baseball before heading to DSU. He posted a 3.24 ERA in 14 games as a senior this season.

07 Jun

the core four

There is a special group of former Mississippi Braves playing in the big leagues. Call them the Core Four. As the M-Braves celebrate the 10th anniversary of their first season at Trustmark Park, there are four players from the team’s original 2005 roster still in The Show. Each was a star in Double-A, and each is still capable of shining moments. Saturday was such a day for all four. Brian McCann, a perennial All-Star catcher, went 2-for-5 with a home run (No. 9) as his first-place New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-2. Gregor Blanco, who has won two World Series rings in San Francisco, went 1-for-4 with a run to help his second-place Giants beat Philadelphia 7-5. Jeff Francoeur, who made the Phillies’ roster as a minor league free agent this spring, went 2-for-4 with a grand slam (off Madison Bumgarner); he’s at .252 with four homers for the struggling Phils. And Blaine Boyer, who has bounced around the last several years, threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief for first-place Minnesota in a 4-2 loss to Milwaukee; Boyer has a 2.17 ERA. McCann was the first of this foursome to make the big leagues, promoted on June 10, 2005. Boyer and Francoeur followed that summer. Blanco didn’t get up until 2008. Two other original M-Braves, Anthony Lerew and Matt Wright, are still pitching in the independent Atlantic League. … An M-Braves alum of more recent vintage, Christian Bethancourt, hit his first career home run for Atlanta on Saturday, a ninth-inning game-winner in a 5-4 victory against Pittsburgh. P.S. Biloxi won its long-awaited first home game at MGM Park on Saturday, topping Mobile 5-4 in 14 innings. The first-place Shuckers lead the M-Braves, who lost at Montgomery, by 3½ games in the Southern League South. The teams meet in what could be a pivotal five-game series at Trustmark Park June 11-15. The first half ends June 21.

05 Jun

good stuff

The 200th minor league appearance for Jake Brigham was no doubt the best. The Mississippi Braves right-hander took a perfect game into the ninth inning and wound up with a one-hit gem as the M-Braves beat Jackson (Tenn.) 8-1 Thursday night at Trustmark Park. “I’ve never done that before,” the 27-year-old Brigham told milb.com. It was his second career complete game and first since 2010, when he threw a shutout in the Class A South Atlantic League while in the Texas organization. Brigham was drafted by the Rangers in 2006 and also has pitched in the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh organizations, reaching the Triple-A level. Atlanta signed him in the off-season, and he has been a dependable member of an improving rotation. Brigham is 5-2 with a 3.42 ERA. The team also has a 3.42 ERA, third in the Southern League, and two other regular starters are in the top 20 in the SL in ERA: Victor Mateo at 2.74 and Tyrell Jenkins at 2.86. Highly rated Jason Hursh, who has begun to round into form, has a 5.61. The M-Braves (29-23) will throw Jorge Reyes against Jackson in tonight’s series finale. Reyes is 5-2 with a 1.36 while working mostly in relief.

03 Jun

touching the bases

Mallex Smith, the Mississippi Braves’ 5-foot-9 center fielder and leadoff batter, did a lot of little things that helped the team sweep a Tuesday doubleheader against Jackson (Tenn.) at Trustmark Park. Smith made three sensational catches in Game 1, lending support to the strong pitching of Victor Mateo and Mike Nesseth in a 3-0 win. In Game 2, Smith went 1-for-1 with two walks, two runs and a stolen base in a 5-2 victory. Smith, one of Atlanta’s top prospects, is leading the Southern League in hitting at .340 and has 18 steals and 28 runs in 43 games. The M-Braves are 28-22, second in the SL South, and will have ace Tyrell Jenkins (4-2, 3.00 ERA) on the mound and possibly rehabbing big leaguer Joey Terdoslavich in the lineup tonight against the Generals. …. Former East Central Community College standout Tim Anderson suffered a left shoulder injury in an outfield collision while playing for Birmingham of the SL on Tuesday. There was no immediate word on the severity of the shortstop’s injury. Anderson, one of the Chicago White Sox’s top prospects, is batting .316 with 22 RBIs, 19 steals and 31 runs. He recently had a 4-hit, 3-steal game and also hit for the cycle in a game last month. … Ex-Alcorn State star Corey Wimberly is on a tear in the Mexican League, raising his average to .329 with 16 steals and 39 runs in 42 games for Yucatan. Wimberly, a switch-hitting center fielder, is in his 11th pro season. … Pillow Academy product Louis Coleman is 3-1 with four saves and a 1.54 ERA at Triple-A Omaha in Kansas City’s organization. Coleman, who has a 3.25 career MLB ERA, is no longer on the Royals’ 40-man roster. … Ole Miss alum Cody Satterwhite, pitching at Triple-A Las Vegas in the New York Mets’ system, has registered six scoreless outings in his last seven, trimming his ERA to 6.38. He has a win and two saves. … Mississippi Gulf Coast CC product and former big leaguer Fred Lewis, with Southern Maryland in the independent Atlantic League, is batting .224 in 33 games. He has been out of the lineup for over a week. … Ex-UM star Drew Pomeranz is eligible to return today to the Oakland A’s active roster. He is 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA in eight starts; reports say he may be moved to the bullpen. … Meridian CC alum Corey Dickerson (Colorado) and Itawamba CC product Desmond Jennings (Tampa Bay) remain on the disabled list with no clear indication of when they might come off. … Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton continues to lead the majors in stolen bases. He got No. 22 on Tuesday night but was also picked off during Cincinnati’s 5-4 loss to Philadelphia.

31 May

three stars — plus one

Three Mississippians in the majors flashed some major star power on Saturday.
1. Billy Hamilton. The ex-Taylorsville High standout went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, a run and a steal (No. 20) to help Cincinnati beat Washington 8-5. Hamilton, who has been scuffling (along with his team) and now hits ninth in the order, boosted his average to .228.
2. Joey Butler. The Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College product from Pascagoula went 2-for-3 with a home run (No. 3) as Tampa Bay topped Baltimore 3-0. Butler, getting regular playing time for the first time in his brief MLB career, is batting .309.
3. Brian Dozier. The former Southern Miss star from Tupelo (and Fulton) tripled off the glove of the right fielder, plating the go-ahead run in the seventh inning of Minnesota’s 3-2 victory over Toronto. Dozier’s 26 extra base hits (including nine homers) leads all MLB second basemen. He has 25 RBIs and 38 runs.
P.S. Williams Perez was never a ballyhooed prospect as he slowly climbed the ladder in Atlanta’s minor league system, but he certainly looked the part on Saturday night, when he threw seven shutout innings against San Francisco and notched his first big league win (beating Tim Lincecum). Perez, 24, who went 7-6 with a 2.91 ERA for the Mississippi Braves in 2014, was signed by the Braves out of Venezuela in 2009 and spent four seasons toiling in the low minors, finally reaching Class A Rome in 2013. With a 2.66 ERA over five games (three starts), he appears to have earned a spot in Atlanta’s rotation. … Perez was one of six former M-Braves to earn either a win or a save on Saturday. The others: Charlie Morton, J.J. Hoover, Chasen Shreve, Randall Delgado and Blaine Boyer (one of the original M-Braves of 2005).